Deus Ex : Dividers
by Tsumeo
Summary: Prague. The year is 2028. And Mankind is now Divided for good. And I'm ashamed. Ashamed of how far we can go to reject each other. The day I met this man... It was my chance to put things right. [Prequel to Mankind Divided. Features a created character.]
1. Coming Back

_Hi !_

 _So, what about this fanfic… I'm just trying to have a bit more Deus Ex to eat before Humankind Divided is finally out. And since I like to write stories… Let's write one !_  
 _I don't guarantee it will be perfect, or that it will really fit the Deus Ex universe. In fact there will definitely be inconsistencies, but since we just have little knowledge about Humankind Divided, it okay, right ? But I wanted to write a prequel to Humankind with what we know of it. You will see soon._

 _ **Disclaimers :** The setting and some characters belong to Deus Ex creators._

* * *

My phone was ringing. I looked around me, a bit annoyed, but well. There was barely no one in the train at this hour anyway. So… I picked up and lowered my voice :

"Hi, mum !"  
"Sweetie… How did the interview go ?"

I grimaced. She couldn't see me since I never used webcam, what a relief…

"Well, it could have been worse… They were searching for something more… mainstream. But at least they didn't say it was crap."  
"Oh…"

Trying to find work in the entertainment field, these days. The world was taking quite a bad turn so you might have thought that it was a thriving business for musicians and artists of any kind. Didn't people like to hang out at a concert, in a theater or laugh at a funny show during the darkest of times ? Apparently, not anymore. Except in some places like... Well.

"…Maybe I'll have to try nightclubs sooner than I thought" I said with a sarcastic tone.  
"Don't you say that… Did they tell you anything about your Natural status ? If you were proposed to get an aug again, I'll swear I'll…"  
"They didn't imply anything mum, don't worry. It's not like you can get augmented here anyway. I'm still in the Natural part of town, so…"

Yep. That's how it was. There were the Natural suburbs, and the Augmented suburbs, facing each other and separating the Nat and Aug Prague. Which one was the best, who was I to know ? So far, the Nat-subs were shown as blank by Picus all around the world. And it was the same thing with any city in any part of the Earth. Nat-cities : almost perfection. No problems whatsoever. But getting jobs other than in the security field, in management, as a janitor or as a worker… Meh.

We didn't get to see each other anymore. I mean, Augs and Nats. Except in stations, where sometimes Augs were allowed to go in Nat town. We were apart. On both sides, terrorism was at its peak. Yeah, "on both sides". Because it looked like the news took a great interest into keeping the Nats completely innocent… But who did actually begin this big Apartheid ?

"And did they know your name ? Did they implied anything about your… Oh please, Hellen, would you be so kind to just… I don't know, start a career in another field ? You could have so many wonderful jobs, you would earn so much money and… You know…"

 _There we go again_ … And about what I was saying earlier ? Oh, yes. My opinions. They bothered people. So much I got rejected many times by programmers during festivals, lives, concerts, even jam sessions in bars. We were in the Nat-subs, you know. You didn't get to speak about that kind of things in Nat-territory. "Augs ? They are beyond salvation. They gave their humanity away. William Taggart was right, by the time. May he rest in peace. We should have listen to him." This was what you heard in the streets these days. Every day. Since the Panchaea incident, where the big heads from Humanity Front, Tai Yong Medical, Sarif and Darrow Industries had disappeared into the ocean, aggressions against Augs had been even more violent. So violent the government (or so we were said) decided to create some new kinds of Berlin walls (or so I would say) for each big cities. It had resulted on the biggest rural exodus ever seen in History. Well, because these walls were not constructed in smaller villages and towns, and thus people were afraid of mixing population. Nat cities and Aug cities were now over-inhabitated. We had capsule hotels everywhere.

"Mom, I still got to try. People are afraid, that's all."

I didn't say much more than that. She would understand. I was not alone in the train anyway. Having this kind of conversation in public might have been bad for me... Well, I gave up on this one, I know. But only because it was late at night and I was tired enough not to want any trouble on my way home…

I changed the subject :

"How is it at the retirement home ? Sorry I didn't have time to come by."  
"It's okay. It's a bit hot in here but the nurses are kind. And it's great to have some traditional health care around. That brings me back to a time in which life was much easier, honey."  
"Ah. Did life was ever easy ?"  
"You are so pessimistic, Hellen…"  
"You always say that when you're upset about my lifestyle so…"

I looked out the window. Final destination was not that far away now.

"Look, I got to hang up. I'm almost there. Love you, mum."  
"We'll discuss later. Love you too."

"Discuss later". _Never a good sign. I should learn to just lie and tell her that everything is okay, that I found a secure job somewhere over the rainbow and all… But that's not me. I don't feel comfortable with lies._  
 _That's pretty much why it's a nightmare to live in Nat-subs, I guess.  
_  
I got up from my seat, along with the four or five persons who have been in the train with me. The mechanical voice on the train speakers announced our arrival.

"Terminus – Taggart station. Taggart station."

I rolled my eyes and took my guitar to put it on my shoulder.  
In the big station, the ant community of citizens was moving. Security guards were everywhere, especially at the boundaries of the area, discretely waving their guns while watching at the crowd through their helmet. I frowned. This was a common view, yes, but there were more guards than usual. Plus, red lights was shining above the big doors showing the limits between Augs and Nat Station. A new terrorist action ? Which side, this time ?  
I shivered. It was a common view anyway. But I kept shivering everytime this happened.

* * *

 **"He has passed the barrier, Jensen, you have to hurry… You'll have to go to Nat-territory..."  
**

 **The voice in his ear was crushing a little. Too many wave interferences here… At least security was bigger. Communicating via secret channels was tricky now. Adam looked at the crowd around him. Just in front of him, the guards seemed tense. They must have felt the same in the other side of the barrier. Some people from the crowd looked at them with puzzled expressions, but they went on their way rapidly. You don't stay in front of guards too long. Especially when you're an Aug.**

 **"No way… Did he go through the airvents ?" murmured Adam.**  
 **"I don't know. Through the roof maybe. He is too massive a pitbull to go as smoothly as you through airvents or whatnot."**  
 **"I'll need you to disappear for a while, Stanley. Get off the grid. You can't risk being spotted in the other part of town."**  
 **"You'll go alone ? That's insane man…"**  
 **"Do we have a choice ? I'll contact you ASAP. Cutting the channel off."**

 **With a click, the conversation ended. Adam got behind a phone booth. He turned himself into nothingness. Invisibility Cloak. He couldn't get directly through the radars. He'd have to get around. Quickly. And if his target had gone through the roof ? Well, he'd go underneath…**

* * *

 _First chapter – DONE. I hope my English was not that bad (I'm French but I'm a foreign language lover). Have a nice day everyone and… see you soon… *Cloak activated. Wooosh.*_


	2. Final Destination

_As soon as I finished the first chapter, I wrote the second one... I read a lot of wikia pages in order to fit everything correctly though. I didn't know I would be so invested in this story haha._  
 _There is a bit more action in the second part of this chapter, you'll see... Jensen is heading to a bad, bad situation..._

 **Disclaimers :** characters and settings are owned by Deus Ex creators.

* * *

 **Jensen frowned, trying to concentrate. He had found what he had been searching for, eventually. Simply in the bathrooms of the station : an airvent leading to a lower level. The only thing now was to analyse the situation correctly.  
Through his eye implants, he tried to see through upper walls. The golden silhouettes of thousands of people surrounded him. No sign of… Marchenko. The "Pitbull" Stanley – his VTOL pilote for this mission - had talked about a few minutes ago.**

 **After the events in Panchaea, Jensen had disappeared from the grid. Completely. Wounded and exhausted after the destruction of the facility, he had to begin from scratch again. He didn't know what happened to Sarif, Taggart or even Darrow. Their deaths were announced on every newspapers possible. But what could Jensen really believe after what he had seen there ? He never tried to contact Pritchard again. Even if so far, Pritchard was the closest human being on earth to deserve his entire trust. He HAD to stay in the shadows, at least for now.**  
 **So, he had been trying to find at least a new goal. And it was pretty clear : dismantle the Illuminati for good. When he first heard about the palpable existence of the group, he had laughed. But now, he couldn't doubt anymore. Conspiracies. Blackmail. Set-ups. All of that was part of his life from the very beginning. Didn't his own DNA was the beginning of all of that ?**

 **A few weeks later, he had found the community he was searching for. The Juggernaut Collective, implanted not only in America but around the entire world. With a lot of conviction, he tracked down the ID of one of its member – Pritchard had been a good mentor in the field, even if he didn't know that… The tracking was pretty easy and quick, to say the truth. And it happened to be the ID of Garvin Quinn*. Adam, at the time, thought that it was a strange turn of event…**  
 **Quinn wrote back to him almost instantly via info-link.**

 _ **"I knew you would come back to me pretty soon,** **братан*** **. I kept a trace of your ID so that you could easily bypass a back door in my security system - exclusively made for you. Yes, Juggernaut members are not beginners, we know how to make a pretty homeland of basically everything in the cyber-world. I'll set a vocal meeting between you and Janus – the big boss – soon. If you're ready to take a flight, head for Prague. A lot of contacts are already there. "**_

 **Not a day later, Adam had been in a plane taking off to the East, with no bearings.**  
 **Watching the vastness of golden clouds through the window, he wouldn't stop replaying over and over again the events from a few days earlier in his head. Right in front of him, instead of the burning sun in the distance, Zao Yun Rhu was dying from his bullet shot. Instead of the black shadows running on the clouds, wild men and women were crying out, screaming, pouring in through cracks and walls. And instead of the glass window… was Megan. Away from his grip. Yet again. What to trust now ? What to believe…**

 **And now, here he was. Fingers on his temples, impatiently clicking his tongue against his palate. Was it possible that thermal masking augmentations had been definitely threw into the market ? Marchenko was supposed to be a few floors up. And the 50 meters-wide heat radars in his eyes should have definitely picked up his signature… There was no other explanation. If so, then the situation was far worse than predicted. And Adam didn't have vocal contact with any other Juggernaut members at the moment.**  
 **The other solution ? The Pitbull was already out of range. And he already was in the Nat-subs. And this ? It was bad news…**  
 **Adam activated a soundproof cloak around him and literally slid as fast as a snake hunting a prey. Except that the prey might be far more dangerous than the hunter himself…**

* * *

I tiptoed on the sidewalk with a little apprehension. The roads were always quiet at this hour – checking my phone, I noticed that's it was almost 2 AM. Ah… Why was I THIS late, again ?

After the interview, I've got a little off track, I had to confess. I was not the kind of person to lament, but this time, I was feeling really down, so… Heading for Prague center was a good excuse to just walk on the street and look around. Except that the sight was not so heartwarming. Especially at checkpoints. All those augs being looked at... "Clank". "Garbage". "Augshit". They were living through hell every day. And I'm not even speaking about the Nu-Poz addicts who were threw off of every stations like trash. No help. No kindness whatsoever. I couldn't stand that.

And all day, I had been wondering… Was this really the city – well, was this really the world – I wanted to live in ? Did I want to serve a government, or even corporations that had turned down on a complete section of society like this ? WE, as a whole, had created augmentations. As a whole, WE had contributed to the enhancement of technology. This technology had been used to control and change our bodies and our minds. And now, those who had benefited from this product were treated as freaks. "They surrendered to the temptation, didn't they ?". Yeah. Yeah… It was more like "We are turning our eyes away with shame and disgust from the one who innocently wanted to embrace change and perfection." Because, in the end, it was just that. Some people wanted to achieve some kind of recognition. And the more augs there were, the more other people felt like it was the right thing to do. Even me, at a time, I had thought about getting an augmented lungs implantation, or hands enhancements. For singing and playing instruments. Too expensive for a student. Would I have them now, had it been cheaper at the time ? Probably... Gosh...

As I kept walking, partly hidden by the shadows of the buildings, I heard soft quick steps on the other side of the street. And my heart missed a bit.  
During a fraction of seconds, I thought my ears deceived me. I mean, this big man running, being so discreet ? But the most important… Massive bionic arms partly hidden by big black sleeves. Height, approximately 6 feets… Bag on the back, big, square-ish.  
Something was wrong. Really wrong.  
He quickly turned his eyes. Towards me. He'd seen me. Put on a terrible smile.  
Kept running.

Oh dear…

* * *

 **A bomb.** **Marchenko was smuggling a bomb. After going out of the airvents, taking some turns, activating a luminosity enhancement in his eyes, Adam had spotted him, running with a soundproof cloak just like him. And the bag on his back couldn't be anything else than a bomb.  
Targeting the Nat-subs was tactically a "good idea", when you think of it. The station was bigger, there would be much more chaos and death, yeah. But Nat-subs were quieter. There was a lot of people, but at least the explosion wouldn't have any repercussion on the augs side. Since it was 2 AM, people would die in their sleep. Still, this area was less populated than a station. This bomb would be a warning. A warning to show Nat people that Augs wouldn't forget and would take a step up soon...  
**

 **But anyway. It was murder in cold blood… Aug rights would never advance with this kind of behavior. Adam knew that more than anybody.**  
 **With the soundproof cloak still on, Adam sprinted. His legs let him go faster than his target, and with a matter of seconds, he was on his tail. With the speed of the sprint though, the cloak didn't cover every sounds, and immediately, Marchenko noticed him.**  
 **They knew it both, for the safety of their respective missions, that they couldn't use bullets. Too much noise. Marchenko wanted to let his bomb on the plaza before disappearing in the darkness. Adam wanted to annihilate it without alarming cops and civils…**

 **A quiet yet fierce battle engaged. The Pitbull turned back, his bionic fist reaching for Adam's jaw. The man bended his knees before the punch could touched him and he activated the blade in his right arm to try and cut through Marchenko's guts. It failed though, and with a simple gesture, his target kicked him in the elbow. The blow threw Adam back violently, so violently he felt vertebraes cracking in his neck. But the pain didn't stop him. He had to aim for the back anyway.**  
 **Unfortunately, Jensen didn't have any thermal councilor clock. And since Marchenko seemed to be "updated" with the best enhancements you could think of, there was no need to try and become invisible. His body thermal imprint would have deceived him. The only way to disarm that bomb was by being smarter and quicker. Receiving a punch again ? No way.  
**  
 **And though loud noises with bullets were prohibited, silenced weapons were not. Jensen quickly took his 10mm out and approached again. While Marchenko was ready to strike his head, Adam shot several bullets at point-blank range in his right arm, where supposedly, flesh and bionic were jointed together. The Pitbull tried not to scream in pain, and a muffle sound came out of his mouth. All the while, Jensen activated his arm-blade again, threw himself up as swiftly as a snake and cut the bag's lashes.**  
 **"Niet…"**  
 **Marchenko grasped Adam by the hair with his left arm to throw him on the ground again. Not surrendering, Jensen kept the bag close to his chest and didn't let go. A punch in one of his forearms broke his metal bones... There was no real pain, but tingles in his bionic fingers. This arm was useless now. But still, his muscles kept wrapping the bomb.**  
 **The Pitbull kept punching, harder and harder, and as Adam felt crushed by his weight, he lifted his right arm… And planted it in Marchenko's right eyes. As the big man reacted violently to the pain, the blade ripped on his forehead, making the wound even larger and deeper. He threw himself back, a hand stuck on his face, trying to gather his consciousness. At the same time, Adam felt adrenaline rushing through his vein. He opened the bag, checked the bomb. Right there. The disarming lock. With his hacking augmentation at its best, he could open the device and crush the explosive system in less than...**

 **10 seconds...**  
 ** _Marchenko stumbled, wiping his forehead and readjusting his vision on his remaining eye._** **  
** **8 seconds.**  
 _ **The man breathed heavily, a hand reaching for Adam's back.**_  
 **5 seconds.**  
 _ **It was too late. Too late to bother about loud noises and alerting the neighborhood. It had to be done. He activated his pistol-arm.**_  
 **3 seconds.**  
 _ **Suddenly, a noise. Far behind him. Stressed out, he turned back. Reinforcement ?**_  
 _ **No. Nothing.**_  
 **1 second…**

 **Adam closed his fist tightly, crushing the little ball that would have been responsible for the death of hundred of people tonight. Relief passed through his eyes…**  
 **But relief-time was short. A hand grabbed him by the collar, threw him on his back. Another hand punched his head. Hard. The Pitbull was mad. His plan had failed. It was not about killing Adam right now. It was about tearing him into tiny pieces…**  
 **Completely groggy, Jensen felt a foot leaning on his thorax while both his arms were being… teared off. This time, pain was excruciating. Flesh was torn apart from biotic elements. A few seconds later, he heard the metal parts being thrown away… while the Pitbull stomped on his bionic legs. After his deeds were done, he bent over his ex-hunter.**

 **"You'll see how it is to be thrown in aug jails. They won't bother about giving you new limbs."**  
 **  
Taking back the bag with the deactivated bomb, Marchenko was ready to walk away, blood still dripping from his severed head.**  
 **  
"It's over, this time. But it's only delaying the big event. That's a shame. You could have been part of this. Brother."**  
 **  
It was the last words Adam heard. Body wrapped in pain, he exhaled. And drowned in unconsciousness.**

* * *

 _*Garvin Quinn : he is a side character in the DLC "The Missing Link", and he is an acquaintance of Janus. Since Janus might be the head of the Juggernaut Collective, it's pretty obvious Quinn is also a member of the group...  
*_ _ _ _братан : a russian word Quinn uses a lot in the DLC. It simply means "Brother".__ _

_The fighting scene was short, but really intense to write, I hope it was okay !  
I included side characters such as Quinn in there... Yep. Imagining things through canon story is really fun ! :)  
Don't hesitate to throw some feedback out there... It would be much appreciated ! Have a nice day and see you soon..._


	3. White Room

_I have noticed that one of the created characters for this story, Sanders, the VTOL pilote, already has a name that exists in the Deus Ex universe… (Zeke Sanders). I didn't notice that before today ! I'll change his name for Stanley (because Stanley Parable is an amazing game haha). Sorry for the confusion !  
_

 _Anyway, let's see what happens now...  
_

* * *

A few seconds after the massive man just passed by me, I saw the shadow of his pursuer. As swift as a cat, he too didn't make any noise. My heart bumping in my chest, I slew down. Trouble was ahead. And from where I was, I could still see them. They were 50 meters away, but the street was so empty that nothing obstructed my vision.

My mouth was dry. Hands wet. I completely stopped and hid next to the door of one of the buildings. In this era, buildings were well isolated, even cheap ones. The price of soundproof material didn't mean anything anymore. Street fights didn't ever got notice, when you think of it. But well. If the two guys out there caused too much a ruckus...  
They were fighting... from what I could see, the smallest silhouette haf managed to steal the bag - this not too pleasantly squarish bag. The other silhouette, the biggest one, was stumbling as if badly wounded. I didn't feel well. I didn't know why. I had to do something before... Yes, he was reaching for the other man. And apparently, he was holding a gun... That was bad. Really bad.

I simply clapped my hands, lowdly, from where I stand. I bit my tongue harshly. He heard me... He heard me ! During a few seconds, time just stopped. I regretted what I'd just done and cursed myself. But from afar, I could see him redirect his attention toward the other shadow.  
Then, I gulped. Was he tearing his limbs off ? I tried not to throw up...

Moments later, there was just silence. The big man was gone. The other one just lied there, unconscious... I tried to be brave. I approached him...

* * *

 **"Mister ? Mister ? Can you hear me ?"**

 **Damn... He wished he could just turn off his brain for a minute. He already knew what was to come. It was obvious that he would be labeled as the runaway terrorist. He had a pretty bad memory of being tied up to a EMP chair to suffer questions and whatnot when security gards had found him in a cargo ship a few months ago*. Not that again...**  
 **He didn't even have enough strength to open his eyes completely. Sleep. Slumber. Now.**  
 **Pitch black.**

* * *

"Mister ? You..."

I was just upon him now. Strangely, I felt a bit relieved to notice that the arms that had been tore off were bionics... I mean, it was not like REAL arms. And there was not as much blood as expected...  
Well, except in the back of his head...  
I was not really thinking right now. I just had to hide this man. Quickly. Somehow, I knew that he did a right thing tonight. If I let him alone here though - an Aug, spotted in Nat territory by night ? - things would go bad for him.  
I remembered the red lights above the checkpoints in the station. It was an anti-terrorist action. It happened a lot these days. This time, the event would have been triggered in Nat subs, where I lived... I was involved, wether I wanted it or not. And it tied in with what I'd been thinking these last few weeks...

I applied a hand on the man's forehead. Sweat was dripping, mingled with blood. But he didn't seem to be feverish. I had read about Health regulator implants. He looked so heavily augmented I was almost certain he would be back to consciousness - I couldn't really say that he "would be back on his feet..." since they were broken, and well, auto-growing bones didn't already existed, did they ! - in no time...  
Then, I would question him. I had to know what all this was about...

I took him with me, leaving my guitar here for the moment. I lived a couple of doors away anyway... I just hoped I was not making a huge mistake here. I valued my life, you know...

[...]

Middle of the afternoon. I had stayed at home all day. I couldn't really leave while an unknown guest was sleeping on the couch in my guest-room. I had taken care of taking the two broken arms off the street. When I had left, there was no trace of any struggle whatsoever, except for some blood stains. People would think that some alcoholic guys had had an argument during the night, nothing more. I didn't know about the anti-terrorist group though. Did they call off the security guards ? Did someone catch the "massive man" during the rest of the night ? I'd been watching Picus TV all day, but appart from announcing a warning of potential threat in the area, nothing had been said about a run away terrorist. No identification of any kind. But I felt elieved somehow : my guest was definitely not one of them.

Suddenly, I realized... I had to examine his belongings. His pockets, for instance... I had to learn about him.  
I entered the guest-room. With a gesture, I took back a length of blond hair to put it behind my ear. Time to play detective-girl.  
I didn't take off his bullet-proof jacket. I had just laid him here with precaution and put a gauze behind his head. He hadn't move the entire day. He must have been seriously knocked out...  
He did have pockets on his pants though. And I managed to extract their content. A pocket secretary, some official papers, a credit card... The usual stuff. I was more concerned about the official papers...

Adam Jensen... 1993... A card indicating a post as security chief for Sarif Industries. A broken SWAT badge. And another badge with only a symbol on it. The american side of Earth, planted with a kind of sword which had a blade made of electronic circuit...

 _Oaw._  
 _Wait._  
 _That. Right here. That's weird._

Just how did this man had turned from being a SWAT soldier, to an official security chief, to finally end up with a hacktivist group working in the shadows ? Yes, this symbol, it was the Juggernaut Collective... Very little was known about them in the mundane world. All I knew was that they loved to piss off high ranking men with black-suits. They never got in touch with people directly. But sometimes, things got to the world via Info-link and even hidden channels on TVs or radio. They had even managed to hack Picus TV for twenty seconds several times. They were delivering quick bits of information so that they could not be tracked down before disconnecting from the platforms. Manipulation, extorsion, misappropriation of funds... They gave names. Posted them for all to see, before Picus TV erased what was likely to be too inappropriate for those with money. That was a big world we were living in, really...  
Those kind of anonymous groups had always existed. But in this era, it was really hard for them. I was pretty sure they were risking their lives by doing what they thought was right. And 80% of the time, it was useless. Security was tight around the information world. Free-internet didn't exist anymore. Well... Had it ever existed in the first place ? We thought so... Just like we thought we were safe right now.

Movements behind me. Was he waking up ? Finally ?  
Even if I felt really confused and depressed, I smiled. My impish side took over everytime. I knew what I was about to do would sound really, really lame and cheesy but I couldn't help it. I had to say that, while turning around slowly towards him : ...

* * *

 **"You're finally awake. Adam Jensen."**

 **He anxiousely opened his eyes. Damn. Already...**  
 **But strangely, he felt fine. Apart from the big hole in the back of his head - well, it felt like a big hole... - he did actually feel okay... And he was not bound by any rope. Not in a bloody EMP chair either... He was... on a couch ?**  
 **Without arms or hands, it was hard to get up. And his abdomen was still weak. He gave up and stood down. With a furred tongue, he tried to speak. His voice was hoarser than ever.**

 **"What is it... A retirement home or something ?"  
**

 **The room looked really clean indeed. Clean, with white walls and white ceiling. Adam turned his head a bit to discover who his host was.  
A young woman. As if considering his question, she looked around and giggled softly.  
**

 **"You certainly hope so, after all you worked for in your life, but no, it's not."  
**

 **Saying that, she waved his identification papers in his direction to explain why she'd said that.  
**

 **"It's just my home. The only problem is... It's a Nat home."**

 **She grimaced a bit, as if she was embarassed.**  
 **Considering the situation though, she looked relaxed. Silk blond hair cut into a bob, pale skin and bright brown eyes. Tall and slim, simply dressed with pastel colors. She must have been twenty, twenty-five at most. She continued on :**

 **"I'm not saying that what bothers me is your augmentations, no. But right now, we are both in danger..."**

 **She approached, and put Adam's papers next to him.**

 **"I just checked that, and from what I have seen, I think - just think - I can trust you. There are a lot of questions I want to ask. But first, you have to tell me how I am supposed to get in touch with an aug clinic to tell them they have a patient in Nat Subs..."**

 **She had a point. If Jensen had still his arms, he would have crossed them on his chest in a thoughtfull gesture. After coughing a bit - his throat was so dry... - he said :**

 **"I have to contact someone... I am rebooting my Info-link... Is it safe here ?"**

 **He didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust this girl. It was not as if he was in a comfortable position anyway. He didn't really have a choice. He was limbless after all...  
**

 **"We are pretty far away from checkpoints. There are no real tracking devices around, from what I know... Well, you actually never know but... I'll let you have your call. I'm gonna find you a glass of water. Sounds like you need one."**

 **She tapped on his shoulder. If Jensen was not that tired, surprise would have shown on his face. It was the first time in several months a non Aug touched him, or talked to him that way. In a friendly way, that is. Maybe humanity was still worth protecting after all.**

 **She closed the white door behind her. A few seconds later, Adam concentrated, and gave his call. Interferences... But through them, he heard a voice :**

 **"Allo ? Hey ? Jensen, is that you ?"**  
 **"Hi, Stanley.** "  
 **"Oh my god, you're still alive ? I can't believe it ! We didn't hear nothing all day ! Nothin' on the news, red lights off the radars... Thought that Marchenko had took you into custody or something !"**  
 **"That's not likely. He could have done that though. I wonder why he didn't."**  
 **"Where are you exactly ? You sound sleepy."**  
 **"More than ever. I'm stuck in a Nat building. In the suburb. Surely you can track my signal down."**  
 **"Alex is doing it ATM. She's just here with me. We are back to HQ, I couldn't do anything else."**  
 **"That's alright, it's what you were supposed to do. Can you patch me through Vega ?"**  
 **"Yeah yeah. Alex*, Adam for you. Linking you through."**

 **Interferences again. Adam waited patiently. Out of curiosity, he activated his Smart Vision while looking at the closed door beside him. The girl looked like she was holding the glass of water. She was standing there, behind the door... Well, who wouldn't, in the situation she was in... And Adam didn't have anything to hide.  
Then, a bright voice came in through his Info-link.**  
 **  
"Adam ? How did it go ?"**  
 **"Well... No bomb went off. No casulties. But Marchenko ran away and left me in a pretty bad shape. I'm stuck in the room you'll soon have the location to..."**  
 **"Bad shape ? How so ?"**  
 **"No arms, and broken legs. But at least I can still think clearly."**  
 **"Gosh... And I reckon you are in a safe place ? You're not even whispering..."**  
 **"A civil brought me to her place. She is harmless. She seems eager to help, actually."**  
 **"Okay. We'll bring replacement limbs with us. The simplest kind, so that you can walk again. Then I'll have to talk to you about something...**  
 **"Give me the synopsys. I'll have time to think about it..."**  
 **"We have a lead... Janus found valuable informations. Interpol is planning something : a new group is being created. I'll explain everything when we arrive. Hang in there, Jensen."  
"Well, I have nothing to hang with, but I appreciate the encouragement. Jensen out."**

* * *

Of course, I didn't hear anything about what the contact said in the opposite line, but... This man was definitely not a bad one. That was a relief. I waited a couple of seconds, and opened the door again when the call was off, a glass of fresh water in hand. Adam Jensen looked at me, and noticed the glass. He gulped.  
I helped him drink - it was not easy, without hands - and he sighed. With a grateful expression, he slowly bowed his head.

"Thanks... Miss..."  
"Hellen. Hellen Kafka."

I smiled to him.

Right now, I didn't think about my multiple refusal of employments these last months. I didn't think about how I had felt depressed about life around here a few hours ago. I didn't think about mum, about bills to pay, about future days to come.  
This was my chance. My chance to get things right. At least for one person out there. I wouldn't act like a monster. I wouldn't act like this man was a freak, a clank, someone to be thrown into a pit. He was a man. He needed help.  
He had protected us last night. Even though Nats had been giving hell to Augs these last months. He bothered.  
I'd just give back the favor.  
I owed him that...  
But well, he didn't really have to know.

* * *

 _*Refering to events happening in the Missing Link DLC  
*Alex Vega : she appears in the game Deus Ex : the Fall and in the Mankind Divided demo. She is canonically a VTOL pilote in The Fall, and a member of the Juggernaut Collective in the demo.  
_

 _Hellen is entering a dangerous world, but it's out of courage and gratefulness ! I hope I'll manage to give her a great character developement. There is so much I want to write about her... I actually know the end of the story by now :)_

I am sorry if this chapter is awkwardly written. I have some issue with phrasing, since I'm not a native english speaker, but it was fun to try things out...  
Anyway, new chapter coming soon... See you all !


	4. Hired

_This chapter was a bit longer to write. I had a lot to do but here we go !_  
 _I recently read the Deus Ex Bible... Really interesting stuff that contains a lot of interesting informations... And I'm pretty sure the creators of Mankind Divided will use it for some plot twists in the game ! I'm really curious about how everything will turn out to be...  
Anyway. Back to this fanfiction.  
_

* * *

 _ **First time in months I slept properly.**_

 **It was the first thing Adam thought when waking up. And it was true.**  
 **Since he couldn't do anything and couldn't even stand up, the only thing he could do was sleep. And he had slept all the way through the night...**

 **It was 10 am when an Infolink call finally woke him up. Vega and Stanley were on their way...**

 **And now, all he had to do was wait. For long minutes he just stayed laid down, not even knowing what to think about.**

 **The white door opened slowly after some times. Hellen shyly checked on him by sliding her head through the opening.  
**  
 **"You're awake ? I heard you talking an hour ago."**

 **Already an hour... Time surely flied by...**

 **"I'll be leaving soon" answered Jensen. "It's a matter of minutes now."**

 **Hellen approached, noticing that Adam didn't seem to object about her presence in the room. She sat on one of the arm of the couch, next to Adam's dead feet.**

 **"You'll try to find the runaway guy ?"**  
 **"If we don't want him to cause anymore trouble out there, we have to."**  
 **"Well. From what I saw, he looks like the killing machine type... You really think he would blow up non-Aug places ? What's the point ?"**  
 **"Claiming. Forced attention, and forced claiming."**  
 **"Interpol will never abdicate. These kind of things never worked in the past, why would they now ?"**

 **Adam sighed. This girl was down-to-earth. And sharp.**

 **"Desperate times call for desperate measures..."**

 **Slowly moving one of his stumps, he went on :**

 **"I think I know it "first-hand"."**

 **Hellen looked at him with a puzzled expression. Strangely, she seemed really affected by his well-being. There was something about her eyes, about her posture... Sincerity. It emanated from her all persona...  
**  
 **Then, the door rang...**

 **"They're here..."**

* * *

I knew I shouldn't get involved. But I'd been thinking about it all night. And while opening the door, I kept wondering...

In front of me stood a woman and a man. Both were dressed with heavy plastic suits and hoods. Fortunately for them, it was pouring rain outside, so they didn't really attract attention while coming here.  
The woman, brown hair with blond strips, tall and slim, looked at me with severe eyes. Coldly, she said :

"You're cousine is already there, is he ? I have brought him a gift..."

She tapped a metal suitcase with her hand.  
Definitely the rescue team... I waved at them, they entered my home.

As soon as I closed the door, the woman turned back and tackled me against the wall. My heart went crazy. What was she doing ?!

"Not a word. To anyone. You hear me ? If anyone knows we are here, I swear I'll..."  
"VEGA. DROP THE ACT. NOW."

Jensen's husky voice came out of the guest room. A moment of cold silence fell between us, just before she bitterly let me go... What a wild specimen she was...

"I didn't tell anyone and I don't intend to" I say while massaging my head. "I know what Jensen did last night. I owe him. We all do. People around us don't even know that, and they never will. This is my way of repaying the debt... Do whatever you have to, but you don't have to threaten me like that."

Vega stared at me with wide opened eyes. I think I could understand what she was thinking right now...  
Non Augs didn't say that kind of thing. Not anymore. The last few months had been living nightmares for Augs. A few hours after the Panchaea incident, people had been already captured and segregated into camps all over the world. During the incident, I had been at the hospital with my mother, just before she would have been transfered to the retirement home. We had barricated ourselves in her room, away from nurses and patients that had been running wild. We had heard them screaming nonsense and punching walls and doors all around us. It had been beyond crazy. It had lasted one or two hours at most. When we had opened the door again, there had been blood spattered everywhere...

Some of my best friends were Augs. They had suffered the hallucinations. They had hurt themselves and others. I had come to see them with apprehension through the barriers of the detention camps. And there they had been, begging, crying, asking for forgiveness. I knew them. I knew they were sincere. And it had broken my heart. I had known at the time that I would never see them again. They would be put in these segregated places...  
Even Marilyn was there. She had suffered for years of brittle bone disease. When Sarif Industries had been at its best, she had had most of her skeleton removed and replaced with augmentations. She had been treated as a freak all of her childhood. She had finally managed to overcome that. And now, it was all over her again... She was a "Clank", an "Augshit"... How horrible...

A while after that, the big walls had been created. I somewhat always hoped to go passed those walls and go see my friends. It would surely never come to that... Unless...

"Hi. Stanley here. Sorry for her, she's a bit upset these days"

I came back to reality. Vega had gone passed me, and she entered the guest room. In front of me stood a tall, black guy, with a cheerful smile. Wow. That smile was unexpected, considered the situation. I shook his hands and let him go meet with Jensen too.  
And now, all I could do was... Wait and see what happened ?

* * *

"Okay. That's not as bad as expected. The skin is almost intact and the nervous system is untouched, we can easily stick the arms here. A little dose of local anesthesis will do the trick. Skin has been tore off a bit but with time, everything will fall into place again."

Stanley seemed to know his deal. Strange, coming from a pilote. A bit curious - maybe too much for Vega - I asked him about it.

"Oh yeah. I did double cursus. Mecanic and surgeon. I'm a genius, girl ! Sad to see that I'll live my tremendous carrier in fucking ghettos for the rest of my life... But at least I'll have work. There's so much to do, you know."  
"Of course... I imagine that clinics don't have a lot of quality material there..."  
"Well, we manage. We're tough. But Neuropozyne is a problem. More than ever. Even if, well, half of the population has been decimated so... Less problem with the staff..."  
"Stanley..."

Jensen grumbled. He didn't feel well enough to bear with gallows humor.

"Ah, sorry."

Stanley put on surgical gloves and took a seringe. The operation began.

"We all cope in different ways, man. It's my way of coping. Bear with it..."

* * *

 **"While we're at it, Jensen, I'll explain the situation. We can't lose a minute on this. And your recovery will have to be quick" said Vega.  
"Don't worry about that." he answered.  
**

 **Vega looked at Hellen uncomfortably again. She wanted her out of it, that was a certainty...**

 **"She can stay. She knows already. Who we are and what we do."**

 **... And again, Jensen felt like it was the right thing to do. Hellen had helped her, and she had hidden him all day. For several months, he had been searching for the truth behind the conspirations. Maybe it was time for him to share a bit of these secrets with someone that deserved it.**

 **Vega shrugged, not so happy with his decision. But she went on, not even looking again at Hellen.**

 **"Yesterday, Janus discovered something. Something valuable, thanks to Quinn - you'll know him as Troy Simon now. Troy did a bit of cleaning on his files, and entered Interpol again. When he contacted you, he was already hired. He is one of their cyber-security agents now. The thing is, Interpol is creating a new group that will be operational for the new year : the Task Force 2029. After the multiplications of terrorist attacks these last months, they officially decided to create it to prevent them from happening. They are hiring ex-augmented military. In other word, they are searching for people like you, Adam..."**  
 **"Unofficially, however, it's something else entirely... Isn't it ?"**  
 **"Definitely. We don't know what, though. But the events will be covered by Picus TV. And we know the affiliations Picus TV and Belltower have in common. And we know what a new Task Force means..."**

 **Adam closed his eyes for a second.**

 **"Control of population..."**

 **"Yes..."**

 **"Not only that", continued Stanley while stitching the second bionic arm to his shoulder "But hiring augs to fight terrorists also mean that the technology will keep advancing. There are still aug mecanics in the ghettos, and Interpol knows that they work in the shadows. And as a silenced counter-attack, they'll keep enhancing their own products. Hiring aug-soldiers means upgrading them."**

 **"We have a Cold War II not far away..."**

 **"Yeah, man... Definitely."**

 **A moment of silence.**  
 **In a way, Jensen knew what it all meant. He thought about Megan again... If she had escaped in time, she was still working on augmentations, no doubt... Samples of his DNA in her pockets...**

 **"So, what you are saying is that..." Jensen coughed, and kept on : "... If I ever get hired - and I sure will - I'll have to comply and try any augmentation they'll want me to ?"**  
 **"The encrypted e-mails Janus managed to decode emplied that, yes" answered Vega. "Refuse bio-chips implanted in the head, though. We don't have a good memory about that."**  
 **"No, no, no. They won't do the same mistake." intervened Stanley "Even the dumbest aug soldier won't accept that ever again."**  
 **"Don't speak too soon." said Jensen."I saw a lot of dumb people doing the dumbest things ever, lately... I won't even be surprised if what you said happened in the near future."**  
 **"Well... You are no dumb guy, Dummy. If you have a bad feeling, back off. Quick. Don't ever get your body into the hands of obsessed scientists again... Anyway. Arms are attached. Wait for the anesthetic to drop off, and you'll be able to move. Now, the legs...**  
 **"You're quick, Stanley..."**  
 **"That's insane, aye ? Well, except for the augmented arms and augmented eyes, I'm a "natural". Am I ?"**

 **He winked at Hellen, who in return cranked a smile. She used this opportunity to impose...**

* * *

"When the operation is over, I want you to let me go with you."

I just let it go. I had to. I didn't look uncertain, or shy, or whatever. No, it was what I wanted...  
Vega fired piercing needles through her eyes while staring at me. And I turned to her immediatly, because I knew she would be the one to be 100% against my decision.

"This situation HAS to stop. I am a Nat, yeah. I live legally, without any problems, in a fine house, yeah. But I'm not okay with the lies, the threats, the attacks perpetrated on both sides. We live in fear of each other. It has lasted for months now, and it's not bearable anymore. We can't live in constant fear. And I can't close my eyes to what is happening in front of me. I can't be the only Nat out here to think about joining your Collective, can I ? Even if it's the case, I'll be the first one and it doesn't matter. I WANT to make a difference. I want to help."

After being eye-locked on Vega for all this rant, I turned to Stanley and Jensen. The first one surprised, eyes wide open, a hand still holding Jensen's dead leg. The other one approvingly but discreetly nodding. It gave me even more confidence.

"I can be your eyes in Nat territory. The non-infiltrated mole. Hell, I don't even need hiding if I go in Aug Prague. So far, laws stipulate that we go there in our own peril."

Stanley lauged.

"Well, I don't know how long it will stay that way though."  
"No one will know about my non-aug status as long as I don't get scanned. Which won't happen, because no one is scanned when going in Aug Prague. It's said to be dangerous. Even tough thugs don't try to get there to beat up on homeless augs. They do enough damage when they do that in stations..."  
"That's true, girl, that's true... Fuckers."

Vega was still quiet. Arms crossed on her chest, she bit her lips. Stanley noticed that and spoke for her, in a way :

"I have to warn you, it's not easy. You put yourself at risk. And you can put everyone at risk. Not only the Collective, but every inhabitant of this god-forsaken town. If something is miscalculated, bam..." He attached the last limb to Jensen's body. Verified the articulation and tapped on the man's lap to make him understand that the deed is done. "But we don't get to refuse extra-hands. Plus, a valuable asset like you... We can't get passed that. Janus will be informed. But if you want to join, it's now. You keep the house, but you come with us for now."

Stanley took a step forward to reach me and put a hand on my shoulder. Jensen stood up slowly, still weak because of the anesthetis, and sit down on the couch.

"Laptop and phone, in your luggages too. With USB cards and so on. If you have nothing to hide, you won't mind us poking our nose in your stuffs. Each secret groups have their trust issue, you know."

I pulled a face, not really happy with his suggestion. But yeah, I had nothing to hide anyway... I shrugged and obeyed.

"Well well well. Better be quick, guys." Stanley clapped his hands. "We have to get back to HQ before 4pm. We're in time. Then, Jensen, get some sleep again, let the anesthetis drop off. And tomorrow is the big day. You'll go to Interpol HQ. They're already recruiting so... No time to waste. Hop hop hop !"

That was it, then. I was in. I couldn't really process the informations for the moment... But I was in.

A few minutes later, while rearranging my bags and checking the last things I would need, I looked up to see Jensen standing right in front of me. He looked at me with his golden and blue eyes, a stoic expression on his face. I smiled at him with as much gratitude as I could. He nodded at me silently, and activated his sunglasses augmentation, cutting the eye contact.

Deep down, I hoped it wouldn't be the last time I would see those eyes.

* * *

 _Next chapter will be there soon enough... The ties-in with the official trailer are coming, guys ! ..._


	5. The Einstein's Principle

_I'm really enjoying the writing so far. At the moment, I'm listening to This war of mine soundtrack while writing... It really has an unique atmosphere... You definitely have to try it, guys ! And I finally received my Icarus Effect book... Interesting reading  
More than 100 views in total, seeing how actionless this fanfic is, it's not that bad haha ! Thanks a bunch !  
Let's keep going...  
_

* * *

 **Hellen stayed with Stanley in his home in Aug territory. Vega didn't want her to go to the Juggernaut HQ just yet, which was understandable. It was not like the location of HQ was really stable anyway. They changed places regularly.  
Just before leaving, Jensen went to check a last time on Hellen. She looked incredibly confident, considering the situation. She wanted to show that she would be able to handle herself. Her eyes reflected that. She looked at Adam with bright, concerned eyes, muttering a "You stay safe out there" before returning back to the living room in Stanley's appartment. She was already taking out her computer and USB cards for him to check. No doubt she would be completely clean. She was definitely not a threat.**

 ** **The day after, Jensen was off to Interpol HQ, located in a neutral part of town containing all the biggest factory sites.** The Interpol HQ in Prague was exactly the same than any other around the globe. Big white mansion, squarish, with glass windows covering the surface. Adam entered the palace. Crowds of people were there, mostly cops, and some civils too. Desks were located in the far corner of the room. He decided to go and try to talk with one of the employees there.**

 **"Excuse me, ma'am. Adam Jensen, Ex-SWAT and former Security Agent for Sarif Industries." Sliding his paper through the hole in the glass protecting the employee, he continued : "I'm looking for Mr. Troy Simons. I have an appointment with him."  
The woman looked at the papers thoroughly. After a few seconds, she indicated the elevators while giving him a key card.  
"It's on the seventh floor. Use this key to access the elevators. Give it back to us on your way back, if you please, Sir."  
**

 **Once on the seventh floor, Adam opened the door of the cyber-security chief's room. There, was a man at his desk, in front of several computer wide screens...  
**  
 **"Qui... Troy ?"  
**  
 **The man, long faced, blue eyed, bold, with a week-long beard, looked at him with an amused expression. He talked, with a bit of a texan accent.  
**  
 **"Mister Jensen ! Pleased to meet you ! Close the door and come closer..."**  
 **  
Jensen complied, then came closer to whisper.**  
 **  
"Facial surgery, uh... And I remember that you were already quite good at mimicking accents."**  
 **"Haha, Yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll soon have personality disorder at this point ! And you had a good reflex. Keep whispering, we never know."  
**  
 **Troy wrote something on his computer, and touched the send button.**  
 **  
"I reckon the mission was a failure, two days ago... But it doesn't matter, you'll have a way better position soon. Thanks to my unmatched abilities..."**  
 **"Guess so..."**  
 **"I just typed a paper here... I'm helping the recruitment process going smoothly by analyzing soldiers' datas. With a bit of cleaning, your file will be on the top of the list. You can't falsify your name like me, though. You'll have to keep your real identity. Your "Patient X" profile speaks for itself."**  
 **"Vega already warned me about that. I'll be augmented with the best equipment."**  
 **"Oh. You seem pretty okay with that... After these operations you might be the most augmented human being on the planet."**  
 **"Well, it was already the case. And sometimes you just have to let go and embrace what you've become.**  
 **"That's deep. Guess you're right. If everything goes according to plan, you will be one step closer to the source of the problem. You'll be the ultimate cyborg."**  
 **"That's definitely the plan."  
**  
 **Troy printed an official paper and gave it to him.  
**  
 **"I'm gonna give a call to the surgeon in chief. He'll know you're coming. Give this paper to him, it has my signature."**  
 **"Okay. Perfect. I should go now."**  
 **"Deep breath and everything will be fine. Bye, Jensen."**

* * *

 **[...]**

 **"Since you clearly are augmented and that our intel confirmed your identity as Patient X... We have some... Closures to discuss about."**

 **There. Vega, Stanley and even old Quinn told him this would happen.**

 **Jensen was now in the basement of Interpol, were secret research labs have been implanted. Interpol now definitely had access to every little bits of scientific enhancement possible, mecanical ones to surgical ones. The Task Force 29 would be high tech. No doubt. And Jensen would be the best quality weapon. A three million dollar man, was it ?**

 **With a discreet flinch, Adam asked :**

 **"What kind of closures ? "  
**

 **The scientist smiled. He had him in his pocket. This was exactly what that man was thinking right now. The CASIE aug was twitching in Adam's vision. The alpha pheromones emanated from his interlocutor's body.  
**

 **"Follow me..."**

 **Passing through the labs, and reaching a meeting room, the man began to talk.**

 **"We never interrupted augmentation research, even after the... Aug incident. Obviously, we try to stay discreet now. Scientific researches in this field is not at its golden age anymore and ethics are coming back in our faces. But even so, there are plenty of augmented people who still need us. We try to keep working on Doctor Reed's project. But to finance this, we have to make new innovations and provide the population with the best security force possible."**

 **Innovations that benefited who, exactly ? Adam understood now, why Janus suspected this Task Force to be created by illuminaties... But the low ranked scientists surely knew nothing about it. CASIE didn't even show any hint of lie from this man. No anxiety. He was sincere right now. And really confident , as could tell the alpha emanations.  
**

 **"This is why we have to find willing test subjects, to be fair." He kept on. "We have several augmentations here that have to be tested on the field. And as I see it, you won't be able to enter the Task Force as a stealthy agent if you don't get yourself updated. And this begins with your limbs."**

 **"They definitely need to be upgraded, yes."**

 **Adam had thought about this. He really had to get new limbs anyway. And he couldn't risk to be upgraded via black market. If he could get the best high tech product, why refuse... As long as he was fully aware of what was implanted in his body... And just like Vega said : no bio-chips... No way.**  
 **The scientist suddenly looked even more excited.**

 **"So, let me tell you about these procedures, at least. We have this new baby..." The man showed the blue-print of a hand. "The Tesla. Look... On the paper, this is supposed to throw EMP magnetic impulses out of LEDs integrated in your fist's joints. It's already implanted in your arm-to-be. Same thing goes with this Nano-blade. A new switch in the synthetic muscles allows you to throw a certain quantity of tiny strips of metal. The throwing system is copied upon the Typhoon. And by the way, each new limb will be fastly adjusted to your own body, don't worry. "**

 **Then, he took out a pile of papers, with precise drawings.**

 **"Here comes the most interesting part. We just began a new research. You have mechanical augmentations, mister Jensen. You surely know about the glass shield system - that, by the way, we enhanced too. Well, there is a new augmentation that can be used to cover your entire body.**  
 **You might know about mercury thiocyanate. This chemical compound expends profusely if touched by a fire source. Well, we managed to reproduce this effect with generic material, working on a nano-scale. The molecules, if stimulated right, can create a thin but undestructible shield that can expand on the entire body. We just have to implant five of these little chips on the subject. They are filled with the proper chemicals. Two for the elbows, two for the knees, and one, directly implanted on the nape of the neck, and linked to your neural system. This way, just by thinking about it, you can activate the cloak, and one reaction on one of the device will expand to the other devices throughout your body. This, mister, is the beginning of a new era for augmentation. Nano-technology is coming to an edge..."**

 **"Yeah. Right... In the end, I just get new limbs directly implanted with upgrades, and a chip on the neck... Tell me more about that chip, by the way..."**

 **The scientist frowned, a bit upset by Jensen's apathy, like a child disappointed by his parents who don't care about his drawing.**

 **"I understand your concern about that chip, but it's completely different from the Panchaea incident's one. This chip reacts to a certain stimuli. It can't stimulate the body in itself. It's completely chemical. No external control is possible. I could give you the blue-prints if you want..."**

 **"No, it's okay. Let's get on with it."**

 **"If you say so... Follow me."**

* * *

Stanley smiled at me :

"Okeedokee, you're clean, girl, perfect."

He gave me my USB cards back and taped friendly on my shoulder. He came back to his desk for more paper works. I inquired.

"So... Not only you're hacktivists fighting against conspirations, but you're also the nightmares of terrorist actions ?"

Stanley laughed softly.

"Well, you can say that. As augmented guys we don't really appreciate when violent acts are done in the name of us all. It sounded right to try and stop them. And Adam was the perfect guy for the task..."  
"But speaking of task, now that this... Task Force is being greated, what will you do ?"  
"Step back. We'll leave the work to them. They have to get paid in the end of the month, do they. It will give us more time to concentrate on the top of the edifice. Low ranked soldiers will obey the protection order anyway : they have to stop any terrorist attacks and prevent them. And since Adam is part of the Collective as much as the Task Force, he will know if things get bad."  
"I see... But... Still... If you're not sure about the goal of this Task Force... Isn't it a bit too simple to be confident about how they'll handle the work ?"

The man stopped shuffling in his papers. He sighed.

"We... Can't get everywhere. We're not omniscient, honey. Some things will slip away, that's how it is. But if we get to the top of the pyramid, then it will definitely stop... We have to concentrate into finding holes in their big walls and gather as much information as we can out of them. This is what hacktivists do."

I was getting a bit angry. That was not what I wanted to hear...

"You know, I'm okay about getting part of this collective. Alright, fine. But I'll give myself a side mission. I'll open my eyes wider and look around for any suspicious activity. I don't want to let it go that easily. This bomb didn't go off last time. But they will be planning something else soon..."

"Don't you want to look at the bigger picture, Helly ? Think about it... And you would be less exposed with the situation we give you. The Nat under cover, legally able to go to any Nat locations... You are a big asset right now, and you want to put yourself at risk ? You wanna get the bad guys that want to attract attention on themselves ? No way..."

"I. Have. Family. Out there. And friends here. Wherever I am, I'll be dying of anxiety knowing that everyone is at risk. Augs put into ghettos, badly treated, with poor medical assistance... Nats threatened by random attacks everyday... You see the bigger picture. That's fine. But me ? I want to see the pixels. It's part of understanding the global image. Don't you agree ?"

Stanley just stared at me. He was at a loss of words. He was now seeing how I looked like when I had an idea in mind... Then he shrugged and sighed. He suddenly looked so tired and vulnerable.

"Fine... Do whatever you want. I'll have to explain to you some little things though. Then I'll get you back to the Nat-subs. You'll go alone though. I'll change a part of your phone too, so that you can switch it to encrypted whenever you have to give me a call. I'll be your contact for the J-Collective. When we need informations, we'll send files to you on your computer too, with an untraceable e-mail adress. You'll make sure to delete every bit of information we send to you. Okay ? No joke on that."

"Thanks, Stan... And... Make sure to keep me updated on Adam Jensen, okay ?"

The man gave me a sweet smile.

"Ah, no prob girl. No prob. There there... Get your stuffs. You're going back home..."

Yes, I was going back. Sure. But life wouldn't get back to normal. So many thoughts crossed my mind. A squarish bag that could have wiped out hundreds of people's life in a second... Hacked bio-chips turning humans into monsters. Soldiers arresting thousands of people victim of an unfair set-up that put them under the guillotine, and then putting them into camps, not bothering about human rights. Warfare. Terrorism. Black market...  
And finally... A quote...

 _Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.*_

How right was that... 

* * *

_*I've finished Human Revolution for the third time now, picking the Darrow ending this time on "give me Deus Ex" difficulty... Damn. That was something..._  
 _I had to give a tribute to it with this final quote..._

 _Anyway. I worked a lot on the Jensen POV this time, with all the reference to the demo and trailers... Hope you liked that !  
_


	6. Where did humanity go ?

_I just saw a while ago a video in which the developers of Mankind Divided announced the making of a new book by James Swallow (the guy behind Icarus Effect), which would cover the gap between Human Revolution and Divided... Daaaamn my almost-canon-gap-filling-story is shot in the head ! But anyway, I'll keep writing, and I can't wait to have that book in my hands... I'll read it. I'lll read it sooo much._

 _For the sake of immersion, you can listen to Icarus Theme while reading... Because this song is awesome.  
_

 _Well, let's keep going..._

* * *

 **He tried to keep his eyes opened during the procedure. With morphin down his veins though, he didn't have the strength to move from an inch. The dosage had to be strong enough to overcome the Sentinelle Health system in his body.  
He couldn't get higher...  
The scientists had been at it for two hours now. Maybe more ? He couldn't tell. He sighed and swore... well, fictitiously. The drugs were playing with his thoughts, and he didn't like that. And they were getting stronger effects now. He felt tired, and fighting slumber was tougher and tougher. Silhouettes of white smoke were dancing around him. Echoing voices, far, far away. Strangely, he had the feeling to be a breath. Not a body. Not a mind. Just a breath. Surrounded by that white smoke.  
The voices were faint. But far, far away, he could recognize one of them.  
A woman's voice.  
Soft. Nostalgic. Still far, far away.  
 _"Adam."_  
 _"Adam."_  
She was just calling. Like that. Sweetly. Far. Far away.  
 _"I am sorry..."_  
He had heard that before, had he ?  
He could remember. Her soft skin, golden under a dim sunlight piercing through the curtains. Golden hair, like silk enveloping his fingers. Golden sheets caressing their bodies. And her dark, bewitching eyes. Her breath mingling with his... Her sigh echoing in his ears. Her lips on his.**  
 ** _"I love you..."_  
Her angel-like face. So close to him.**  
 _ **"Adam..."**_  
 **"Adam Jensen..."**  
 _ **"Adam..."**_

 **"Mister Jensen ? Can you hear me ?"**  
 **  
He opened his mouth, tongue sticky beneath his palate. Damn... He had fallen asleep against his will. And he cursed himself for what he had thought about.  
**  
 **"The procedure is finished. We will put you in a recovering room and you'll be fully awaken in a few moments. One hour max."**  
 **  
...The last time he had had this kind of dream had been during his... rebirth, so to speak. It seemed that surgical procedure didn't suit him at all.**  
 **And deep inside, he knew that his body and mind still had a mark on them. A mark of her. He could not forget. In a way, he had never stopped being attracted to her. She had been the one who had left him. Too focused on her work, she was. She'd left him because she's been afraid of hurting him with her obsession in her research. And he hadn't had the courage of restraining her. He had lost her once, at this time.  
Then, again... For months, he thought she had died. And when he had finally found her again... It was to discover the unsustainable truth that he had been her lab rat... So, was she so embarassed about the situation that she decided to dump him ? What a comedy...  
Well, either way, she was gone again. "Good riddance", Adam was tempted to say. But his subconscious was obviously telling him otherwise...**

 **In the new room he found himself in, he tried to put those feelings aside while slowly recovering the use of his arms and legs. Soon, he wouldn't have to think about all of this again. He was a man of action, after all. Moving his fingers one by one, he noticed that his arms felt lighter than before and easier to move. As if weight didn't exist anymore, or that his muscles were so developped that no effort could stop him.  
He activated the Tesla augmentation by clunching his left fist. Little clicking noises erupted from his joints as blue little filaments twirled on his phalanxes. What a piece of art...  
Carefully, he touched the nape of his neck, expecting a little bulge beneath the skin... But nothing. He felt a little puffiness due to a needle sting, certainly, but appart from that... No chip.  
Maybe it was just that ? This little sting was enough to upgrade him with this new augmentation ? So if he...  
**

 ****FRRRRRRRRR****

 **"OAW..."**

 **He jumped in surprise.  
Yep. He just had to think about it, and it... happened. Black diamond-like material covering different parts of his body. It felt like hot drizzle falling on his skin. He slapped his protected hands together and the shock didn't even reverberate in his arms. Nano-machines, were they ? Nano-machines reacting to chemical and cerebral stimuli... _Can't kill progress_ was the right expression to use right now.* One needle containing the right substance, and nano-machines did the rest...  
**

 **"You're already adjusting to your new body, as I can see ? This Titan Shield is stunning, I agree..."**

 **Deactivating the shield - as easily as putting it on - Adam raised up his head to meet with a tall, black suited man hanging at the door of his room. Grey hair, dark and focused eyes, and straight as a pin, the newcomer had an aura... A real one.**

 **"Ultimate research facility you have down here, mister..."**  
 **"Jim Miller*. And yes, the new Task Force is already efficient on the D &R field, at least. I'll try my best to guide everyone of you so that you can match that efficiency."**

 **While saying that, the man entered the room and closed the door silenlty, taking a seat at a respectable distance. Serious features, but prepossessing behavior ? Jensen was intrigued.**

 **"You're the chief then. Already here to brief me ?"  
**  
 **Miller cracked a fainted smile.  
**  
 **"Long story short, yes. Your files are particularly interesting, Adam Jensen. Ex-SWAT, recruited as security chief by Sarif Industry, but some plot holes regarding your localization because of malfunction on your GPL implant signature..."**

 **Jensen tightened his jaws. This man was definitely part of one of the biggest corporation in the world, alright. Of course, big corporations like that had contracts with the Big Bro thread, which was not only providing industries with the biggest brand of security cameras, but also the biggest data base in the world, including radiowave and camera recordings. It could be easy to track anyone down with the right tools. And since Jensen was not behind cover, it _was_ easy. But apparently, "Troy Simons" did his job. He erased anything concerning the Panchaea incident, thus the plot holes in his GPL tracking. Because of course, without Troy's intervention, this Miller would know that Jensen had been there... And had had a big role in the destruction of the facility.**

 **"Am I hired then ?"  
"Definitely. The creation of the group is still not official though. You'll attend your first missions as an avarage agent of Interpol, under my surveillance. There are still a lot of future employees to recruit. As its name implies, the Task Force 29 will be fully operational for the new year 2029. Three weeks from now."  
"And what will be the motive behind those missions ?"  
"Reconnaissance, mostly. In the ghettos. Things are getting out of hands, you may have noticed it. We already have cops scouting the area, but I suspect some breach of rule here and there. It has to be, with the overall mindset."  
"I see what you mean..."**

 **Miller took his chair and put it closer to the bed.**

 **"Now, listen to me. For an enforcer of the law to enforce the law correctly, he has to listen around him. Listen to citizens. And as far as I know, beings with mind and soul are citizens. You are a citizen as much as I am, and if you screw up, you are to be sentenced as much as I would be. The abuse of power is a breach of rule. And this is one of the first thing I'll work on as a chief. Nats and Augs alike."**

 **Jensen was at a loss of words. This man was serious. Eye-locked on him. Jensen would have to be patient to uncover the truth, yes, but it seemed pretty obvious at first sight that Jim Miller was not part of any conspiracy. His job was his life. And he was straight sincere about it.**  
 **He had the same flame in his eyes as Hellen.  
A Nat searching for common grounds, for understanding, for peace.  
And _that_ was praiseworthy.**  
 **Miller crossed his arms on his chest.**

 **"Meanwhile, you also have to be available at any times. And aware of any suspicious behavior. On the Aug side, I mean. All this repression is like salt rubbed on open wounds, and some will cry out and retaliate soon enough. You know that almost every two days, anti-terrorist missions are being cared of, don't you ?"**

 **Jensen shrugged, thinking about what happened with the Pitbull.**

 **"I do..."**

 **"Well then... I'll let you recover. I'm sending you data via e-mails. You'll have a place at the dormitories and official papers are taken cared of already. You'll be assigned a VTOL pilote. He'll bring you to the mission sites and extract you when you're finished. Prague is huge and traffic is always a big issue. It's much more easier through the air, you know that. I'm sending his number to your Info-link..."**

 **While saying that, Miller tapped on his phone and the content immediately appeared in Adam's vision. Name of the contact : Elias Chikane.**

* * *

 **The day after, it was with a wild look on his face that Chikane welcomed Adam on his VTOL. The man's jaws tightened hard. He mumbled :**

 **"Well, I know now why our sweet chief didn't send me any details on you..."**  
 **"... And why so ?"**  
 **"I would've refused to share my engine right away..."**

 **Promising... Adam wondered how in hell did he always get to work with those who naturally loathed him. First, Frank Pritchard, now this Chikane. From how he looked at him when he entered the VTOL, Adam knew that Elias was one of those to be upset with augmented people. He didn't have any augmentation himself. He seemed to have a brace on one of his legs though... He rejected technological advancement. "Probably for a reason", Jensen thought. Many people suffered attacks from insane augs during the Panchaea events... Others even lost their family, their friends... Hugh Darrow certainly made his point when he altered the chips...  
**

 **They took off to a remote part of Aug Prague, eventually. Sat behind Chikane, Jensen looked at a detailed map of the area for quite some time, completely mute. It didn't bother Chikane. It was probably the contrary.**

 **After 20 minutes of flight, Chikane landed on a VTOL landing area.**

 **"There we are. Contact me again when you're about to come back. I've some errand to run. Oh, and try to be cool out there. Not the nicest place."**

 **Adam never went to this part of town. In fact, he was quite the newcomer in Prague. He had "visited" the entrance of Aug territory, but he had never gone that far into the jungle. He kind of already knew what to expect.**  
 **Not at this extent though.**  
 **Roads were filthy. Even walls were dark of mud. Electricity cables torn off, some of them floating on water puddles, creating white discharges with clicking noises. Tags on the ground, on the brick walls, almost everywhere. _"They have no rights" "We will starve to death" "ARC is coming" "Augs will survive" "ARC will save us"..._**

 **Adam's fists tightened. If he thought that Detroit's streets were sad, these streets were on another level completely. It was hell.**

 **And what was "ARC" ? He knew he had heard about it somewhere... Was it a coalition ? Of course, Jensen knew that this would happened. Rebel groups had to be created. Citizens wanted justice. There was none here.**  
 **On the pavements, a lot, lot of people were just wandering about. Some other were leaned on the walls or fences, bottles of alcohol or cigarettes - or both - in hand. On his left, a man with a yellow hood was discreetly passing down a little plastic bag to someone else. Probably Nu-Poz. In the end, Megan's research didn't have time to reach the populace. augs were still addicted to Neuropozyne.**  
 **Appart from distraught faces all over the place, Adam recognized the Prague polizia, guns and nightsticks in hands. They suddenly shouted in Czech. And it was toward the man offering the secret plastic bag...**

 **Jensen didn't understand a thing of what the polizia said. One of the guards was shouting louder than the others. Afraid, the other hobos dispersed. The arrested hooded man tried to defend himself with words, hands up, thinking that it would calm the guard a bit.**  
 **How wrong he was.**  
 **The guard laughed it up, and harshly struck the Aug in the face. The struck was so hard he stumbled two or three meters away before falling. His Isolay legs tangled in each other and he couldn't move, knocked off.**  
 **The other guards turned around, and looked at the rest of the populace who was getting indignant. The polizia members showed them their nightsticks, threatening to strike. It was not long before some more men and women were bitten up too...**

 **Adam stood there, stunned. But not for long. The yellow hooded man was seized by the leg, dragged on the filthy ground, before being struck again. He caught his eyes, and for a brief moment, he reached his hand out. And cried out.**

 **-HELP ME...**

 **Jensen's heart missed a bit. It was too much. He was not here for a minute, and already, he was faced with... This...**

 _ **-F*ck this...**_

 ***Activating his invisibility cloak, he sneaked behind the violent guard and struck him with his elbow, sending him off the ground where his victim was lying. The other guards around reacted to the sudden turn of event, as Jensen became visible again. He didn't care. He was not an official from the Task Force yet...**  
 **The citizens took this at their advantage and fled as quick as they could. The yellow hooded man though, stayed were he was, too wounded to move.**  
 **Before any of the guards could do a thing, Jensen seized one of them by the collar to project him on his nearby comrade. Another one tried to get his shotgun out of his belt and point it to Jensen's head... Adam had no other choice but to plant his arm blade into his legs to incapacitate him. The shotgun fell on the asphalt.**  
 **It was not done though. Two police bots, probably alerted by their masters' adrenaline's fluctuation - it was common for policemen to be linked to a bot by a magnetized bracelet - became wild and tried to pierce him with bullets. In a matter of seconds, Adam seized the shotgun on the ground, destroyed both bots and jumped as high as he could to avoid bullets coming from behind him. Two other guards were still charging him with submachine guns...**  
 **Time to try out his new arm abilities...**  
 **Jensen made his wrist bend to uncover a cannon linked to his Tesla charge and unleashed an EMP force field that stroke down the guards. As simple as that. The men were threw off by the discharge.**

 **And silence covered the place like a veil. Jensen stood up, looking around him. Appart from the fainted guards, no one was around. Except for the hooded man.**  
 **He was young, in fact. Mid-twenties at most. His face was covered in blood and one of his eyes stayed shut, puffled up by the struggle. He was trying to get on his feet, but he was too weak to move his Isolay legs correctely.**  
 **Adam took him by the elbow to help him up. With a nod, the man thanked him.**

 **"I... I was just helping the guy. With Nu-Poz. There are still some stuffs out there we managed to scavenge before they shut down most of the L.I.M.B. clinics. There are not enough of them anymore... We... We've been put here like cattle..."**

 **The young man was breathing heavily, trying to hold tears back.**

 **"You understand us, you... You are one of us... You... Are from ARC ?"**  
 **"ARC ? What's ARC ?"**

 **He frowned.**

 **"You don't know ? They are recruiting... They've changed their goal and... Well they're here to help us... We're not alone anymore..."**

 **The man seemed to feel less and less comfortable.**

 **"I have to go... Thank you. For everything."**

 **With a sigh, he departed, leaving Adam alone. Surrounded by the bodies of the polizia.**

 **Where did humanity go...  
**

 **Seriously... Where did it go ?**

* * *

 _The all scene at the beginning is a complete tribute to the cinematic intro of Human Revolution, of course. This intro is a piece of art on every levels. It adds so much depths to Jensen's personnality and deep feelings toward Megan that when you meet with her again toward the end of the game, you're like... "YOU'RE KIDING ME ? YOU'RE KIDING RIGHT ? Seriously, Megan !"... Anyway !_

*Jim Miller : new character introduced by Eidos Montreal a few days ago. He is officially the chief of the Task Force 29 and he has a little character description which is pretty great ! I can't wait to learn more about this character. I jumped on the occasion to include him in my story.

*Can't kill progress : official social media hashtag used when the upcoming game is being refered to. That was a nice touch I wanted to add haha.

*Of course, everything that happens in the end of this chapter is a rewriting of the official trailer... You then already know who this yellow hooded man is~


End file.
